From his perch as chairman of the U.S. House Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, Florida RepublicanConnie Mack went to bat on Wednesday for three free-trade agreements currently stalled in Washington. Mack noted that U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk noted on Monday that Colombia had met all labor rights requirements and called for the Obama administration to get serious in pushing the agreements.

CNN reports Thursday morning that Rep. Anthony Weiner will resign. Informed sources within the Democratic Party told the network he will announce his resignation later on Thursday. Though he has neither a career nor a job to fall back on, the often abrasive Democratic congressman from New York apparently will leave office effective ASAP. Weiner has been under increasing pressure by Democrats to resign after repeated instances of sexting became public, after several women came forward charging him with "lewd conduct," and after he attempted to deny it.

Businessman Mike Yost was the Republican nominee to take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown -- one of the most prominent Democrats in Florida --in 2010, and he hopes to do so again in 2012.By joining Republicans in continuing to oppose the constitutional amendments backed by FairDistricts Florida and approved by voters at the ballot last year, Yost is trying to make political hay in showing his support of those measures.

Those looking for federal help with Everglades restoration suffered something of a blow Wednesday when the House Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would cut $32.7 million from the president's $162.7 million fiscal 2012 spending request. That would leave just $130 million in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' budget and it would mean nearly a $19 million reduction from the current appropriation.

On Wednesday, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee passed the balanced budget amendment which would require a supermajority vote in Congress to raise taxes and a three-fifths vote to raise the debt ceiling. It would also ensure that federal spending could not exceed 18 percent of the GDP. Freshman Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, one of the co-sponsors of the amendment, weighed in on Wednesday afternoon.

With reports coming out that Pakistan has rounded up informants who helped American forces find and kill terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, Mike McCalister, a businessman and retired Army officer who is now running for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2012, weighed in on Wednesday.

On an appearance on the Laura Ingram show on Wednesday, Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio hammered President Barack Obama on the economy.

With Medicaid reform and health care ranking as two of the most important issues facing the nation, Florida got a bigger seat at the table to confront them on Wednesday when Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan was named to the health subcommittee of the congressional Ways and Means Committee. Buchanan is the only Floridian on the Ways and Means, the committee where legislation regarding tax matters is initiated. He was named to the subcommittee by Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich.

GOP presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann and Newt Gingrich are expected to join Glenn Beck at a rally in Jerusalem in August, according to a news report. "Beck aims to show support for Israel by recreating last August's rally 'to restore honor,' which he held in Washington, D.C.," the Israeli news site Ynet reported. "This year, the Wailing Wall will replace Lincoln Memorial as the backdrop for the event, which will take place at Jerusalem's Old City and the Teddy Stadium simultaneously."

On Tuesday, the Florida Chamber of Commerce named Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, as their most valuable legislator for the 2011 session. The Florida Chamber pointed to the freshman senators record on a number of issues, including reducing the corporate income tax and fighting for insurance and legal reform.

Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Rich Nugent took a shot at President Barack Obama on the stimulus on Monday. "When asked about the 'stimulus' not having the promised results, President Obama laughed and joked: Shovel ready was not as shovel ready as we expected," noted Nugent. That's not funny -- especially when you asked the taxpayers to spend $800 billion based on your promises.

This week, a Republican candidate entered the race to replace term-limited Sen. Tony Hill, D-Jacksonville. While the seat currently represents parts of Duval, Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns and Volusia counties, that may change after redistricting in early 2012.

Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross said on Tuesday that he was pleased that the federal EPA was putting off -- for the moment -- adding new criteria for water in Florida.

The Obama campaign, a supposedly well-oiled machine, sputtered Monday night in Miami. Violating a cardinal rule of stage management, the campaign rented a 2,200-seat concert hall for a fund-raiser and couldn't even fill half the seats. A spinning party official told Politico that 900 people had been expected, and 980 showed up. Oh.

A Sunshine State News sampling of political observers in Florida found that Michele Bachmann and Mitt Romney were the big winners in the Republican presidential debate Monday night. Bachmann, a Minnesota congresswoman who used the CNN stage to announce that she had filed papers earlier that day to seek the GOP nomination, stood out from the crowd, despite her diminutive stature. "Michele Bachmann could be a huge pain for other Republican candidates in Florida's 2012 presidential primary," said Brian Crowley of the Crowley Political Report.